The Team

Our Staff

Ms. Joan

Director, 2s and 3s Teacher

Ms. Joan has been on the Spring Knolls staff since 2014. She came to Spring Knolls as a Montgomery College student to do research in Early Childhood Education. During that time, she got to experience the play-based environment first-hand and fell in love with the community.

After the completion of her program, she returned to Spring Knolls as a substitute and aide. For the first few years she floated as an aide between all classes, which helped her get hands-on experience with all early childhood age groups.

In 2017, she became the lead teacher for the 2s class and since then has been teaching the younger age group. She became interim director in 2022 and teaches the mixed-age class of 2s and 3s.

Ms. Gyongyi

Pre-K 4s Teacher, Afternoon Enrichment Program Lead

Ms. Gyongyi is the teacher for the oldest students at Spring Knolls, as well as the lead for the afternoon enrichment program. She is originally from Hungary and has been part of the Spring Knolls family for 18 years.

The most important job for her is to make sure the children are happy, safe, and feel welcome in our school family. This job has taught her to be patient, caring, and empathetic towards people of all ages.

She is enormously proud to be a preschool teacher knowing she can make a difference in a child’s life.

Ms. Kristin

Art Enrichment Specialist, 4s Aide

A native Houstonian, Ms. Kristin has lived in the D.C. area for thirty years. She has been at Spring Knolls for the last ten, but has been working and volunteering with preschoolers since her kids were little – they are now 24 and 26!

Here at Spring Knolls she wears many hats – she’s the aide in the combined 3s/4s Mixed Class, the afternoon art enrichment specialist, the unofficial administrative assistant, and the official bookkeeper. Back when her kids were in preschool, she loved co-oping and serving on the board (treasurer and vice president/membership).

Previously, she was a program specialist at the National Endowment for the Arts and a manager at an art gallery in North Carolina. Her greatest joys at school are sharing her love of the arts with children of all ages.